Beijing: China's foreign minister said Thursday that Beijing is worried about the one-year-old grinding conflict with Russia spiralling out of control and urged talks on a political solution with Moscow in a rare phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart.
According to a statement on the website of China's Foreign Ministry, Qin Gang stated to Dmytro Kuleba that China has "always maintained an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, has committed itself to promoting peace and advancing negotiations and calls on the international community to create conditions for peace talks.
China declared in 2022 that its friendship with Russia had "no limits," and it has since refrained from denouncing Moscow's invasion while denouncing Western economic sanctions and charging NATO and the United States with inciting Russia to use force.
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Although their top officials are thought to have only occasionally communicated, China and Ukraine have kept their diplomatic relations intact. Beijing has also charged that the West "fanned the flames" by arming Ukraine to repel the Russian invasion.
An appeal for a cease-fire and peace negotiations made by China in February received praise from Russia but was rejected by the West. Chinese officials have been charged by US officials with considering giving Russia weapons for use in the conflict.
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In a press conference on March 7, Qin implied that American efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine were being undermined in order for the country to prolong the conflict for its own gain. Qin said, "There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict."
The fact that Qin repeated these comments to Kuleba or brought up the peace proposal was not mentioned by the Foreign Ministry. We sincerely hope that all parties will maintain composure, reason, and restraint, restart peace talks as soon as possible, and work to put the political settlement process back on track," Qin was quoted as saying.
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He declared that China would keep working constructively towards a cease-fire, the end of hostilities, crisis management, and peace restoration. The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia is scheduled, possibly as soon as next week, though neither country has specified the precise dates.